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Another group of the handicapped is the mother suffering from
sensory defects, blindness, deafness or both. The number referred to
include only those deaf persons with a severe degree of hearing loss.
From the point of view of the Local Health Authority, the surest
way of tackling these problems is by prevention, and many are preventive.
Tuberculosis, both pulmonary and of joints, may be expected
to be stamped out in our lifetime. Because of the improved health of
school children, otitis media causing deafness is already becoming less
common.
Much mental disorder, too, is preventible and here again the school
health service is doing valuable work, for it is in childhood that such
disorders are best dealt with.
Other methods by which the Local Authority can help these mothers
are, for example, by placing the child in need in a day nursery, or nursery
school or class. The Local Health Authority can also supply a Home
Help and, in fact, some of these women are being assisted in this way.
More must be done to meet the rehabilitation needs of the rheumatic
and other chronic orthopaedic defects.
Child Welfare Sessions
These sessions have been well attended, though there is a slight
falling off in numbers.
Many of the hospitals with maternity departments ask the mothers
to bring back the babies for a routine check up once a month, and in
such cases it is only when the baby is six months or perhaps a year old
that the mother comes to the clinic. Some will attend their own general
medical practititioner for advice as required.
It would appear that the reduction in numbers will continue, especially
where the general practitioners hold a clinic in their own surgeries for
their patients.
The reason for the Local Authority child welfare clinic in the past,
was to give help to mothers of young children who could not afford the
fees of a private doctor. Now this barrier has been removed by the
National Health Service, there is no reason why general practitioners
should not carry out this function of health education from their own
surgeries.
The following table shows details of attendances made at the infant
welfare clinics during the year:—
70